Wait for Me
by Sarin-sama
Summary: *after battle with Pain* Ever wonder why Naruto and Hinata kinda ignore each other after she finally confesses? Well, here's my view of what happens between them. OneShot, rated F for Fluffiness


**Hey there - so ever notice that after Hinata finally confesses during the battle with Pain that she loves Naruto...and then afterwards Naruto and Hinata kinda ignore each other? Well this bothered me, and since i'm not fully caught on on the anime and haven't read the manga, i'm not really sure if the confessing situation is ever adressed...so i wrote a one-shot that sort of explains their distance.**

**~Enjoy~**

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><p><strong>Wait for Me<strong>

She saw a bright flash of blonde hair coming around a corner and immediately spun around and took off in the opposite direction. Her heart raced at a speed faster than light itself as she fled from his line of sight.

You'd think that after finally confessing her feelings for Naruto she'd at least have enough courage to talk to him, but no…Hinata was still too scared and embarrassed.

When she rushed out onto the battlefield to help Naruto, she'd had one of her courageous moments where she started talking and didn't shut up until it was all out. She had confessed to Naruto while he was pegged to the ground and the last of the Pains was gearing to attack. She had confessed in what she had thought were her final moments.

She remembered thinking, _If I can just help him…just this once, I can die smiling, knowing that I saved him. Knowing that he heard me._

But even after getting thrashed about like a rag doll and stabbed with a metal pole through the torso, she had lived. She woke up to Sakura's crying face and the news that Naruto had defeated the last Pain.

She was unbelievably happy – Naruto had won. He had saved what was left of the village, and she was alive…

Hinata's stomach flipped uncomfortably as she leaned against a wooden wall.

She was alive…and now that meant she had to face Naruto again.

They would obviously have to talk, but even though she had finally admitted her love for the blonde boy she still couldn't string together complete sentences in his presence. What good was telling someone you loved them if you fainted at the slightest touch, or blushed to the shade of a ripe tomato when they even looked in your direction?

The truth was, Hinata had planned to die. She had wanted to die in battle for Naruto. Seeing him fighting the Pains on his own was heart wrenching, and she wanted nothing more than to help him – even if that meant giving up her life so that he could live on and keep the village safe.

But no, she couldn't even do that right. She couldn't even die for him.

She let her face fall into her hands, as if hiding her shameful face from the rest of the world.

It had been a week since the attack. Naruto had been in and out of the village, either out doing something courageous, or helping with the rebuilding. He'd been getting a lot of positive attention lately so the crowds that always seemed to surround him made it easier for her to slip away from him any time their eyes met.

Hinata would search for him constantly, hoping to catch a glimpse of his beautiful blue eyes or that infectious smile – but when she finally managed to find him, his eyes and his smile were always fixed on her, and that was too much for Hinata to handle. She would either run off to hide somewhere or blush and then run off to hide.

She wished she was stronger.

She wished she was courageous for more than a few fleeting moments at a time.

She wished she could just face him and find out what he was really thinking about her confession. She wanted to know more than anything in the world what he was thinking – his smile and his bright eyes always seemed to obscure his thoughts.

Under normal circumstances, she was good at understanding people: reading their thoughts through body language or between the lines of what they were saying. But Naruto was still a mystery to her. She would make guesses and try to predict how he would react to things, but he always managed to surprise her.

She let out a sigh and finally brought her head up – but who she saw just yards ahead of her made her want to burry herself back into her small hands.

His bright blue eyes met her cloudy silver ones, and her instinct of flight took over. She tried to turn and run the other way, hopefully to a more populated area where she could lose him, but found that he had gotten faster.

Naruto had somehow gotten in front of her again, blocking her flight path.

"Hinata," he spoke softly. His voice was gentle, as if trying not to startle the already nervous Hinata who was just a mere foot away from him.

She felt as if his voice had melted her feet to the ground, and found that for once, she couldn't run away from him. She wanted to, but found that her legs wouldn't let her.

"You don't have to run," he said with a small smile in his voice.

She was frozen, completely at a loss of how to speak to him. She inwardly cursed herself and listened as Naruto continued.

"Hinata," he repeated, "What you said…was that…was it true?" He looked at her, his eyes reflecting warmth but also nervousness.

Nervousness?

Hinata thought back – after all of her years of watching him from the shadows and loving him from afar, she could never remember him looking nervous. He was always to confident and sure of himself – never nervous.

She bit her lip and wished he could just read her mind – it would make things easier – but since she didn't immediately develop the ability to send out her thoughts using telepathy, she managed to squeak out a small and whispered, "Y-yes."

She looked down at her feet feeling her face heat up about a thousand degrees.

Naruto was quiet for a second and then let out a small breath, "I'm sorry."

Her head snapped up in confusion. He was sorry? For what? Why was he apologizing? Was he sorry that she loved him?

"I can't say it back to you yet," he continued.

Hinata heard nothing but the _yet _at the end of his sentence.

Yet.

Never had she heard such a wonderful word.

If he couldn't say it back _yet, _that meant he might be able to in the future.

Hinata's cheeks were redder than anything known to man. Her stomach was doing nervous and excited flips.

Suddenly, his fingers twitched and then his hand moved closer to her. His large hand came to her wrist, and he held on loosely, "I have a lot of things I need to do…and I don't exactly know how it will all turn out. So…can you wait for me just a little longer?"

He looked at her with hope and care, and she stared at him in shock, her mouth hanging slightly open as if debating on whether or not to say something or not.

A moment of courage finally happened upon her. "Yes," she squeaked, "Always."

Naruto's smiled widened into his famous and contagious grin and he gave her wrist a comforting squeeze.

Hinata felt the redness of her cheeks lessen.

She could wait for him. She would wait until he did what he needed to do, and then some if he requested it.

She gave a small smile and fought the urge to faint due to his touch.

For the mean time, they would go back to normal. She would go back to watching and cheering from the shadows, while he would go back to catching her eye from afar and smiling widely for her.

They would go back to their normally distanced selves, but in reality he would always carry her heart and her confession with him.

She would wait for him.


End file.
